The Ruling Class Chapter Abstracts for Teachers

Prologue

• The 13th Earl's manservant, Tucker, helps the Earl undress. He hangs a silk rope noose from the bedroom ceiling and sets up some portable steps.

• When Tucker leaves the room, the Earl dresses up in a ballerina's skirt and climbs the steps.

• The Earl talks about the tedium of duty and his past relationships before putting his head in the noose. The idea is that he takes himself to the brink of death before stepping back onto the steps. Unfortunately, he accidentally kick the steps over and hangs himself to death.

• Tucker enters the Earl's bedroom to see his now dead master suspended from the bedroom ceiling.

Act 1, Scenes 1 and 2

• After the Earl's funeral the Bishop Lampton joins the Gueney family at their estate. They all agree to keep the circumstances of the Earl's death a secret.